Laundry detergent for cloth diapers

Merry - posted on 02/21/2011
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What brand of laundry detergent do you use for your cloth diapers?What brand of diapers do you have?How often do you do wash?Do you only put the diapers in the load or do you put other clothes in with them?

I'll be using a coin operated machine in my apt building, I'm hoping to not be wasting $1.50 on a load that is not full, and I am limited in my cycle choices.I'm hoping to buy a detergent that is cheap and that I can use for all my laundry needs.

I'm going to be using prefolds, flats, and tweedle bug covers for my baby girl due in may and maybe be transitioning my two year old son into some prefolds with the tweedle bug covers from time to time to save money and aid in toilet training.

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Kljcalhoun - posted on 03/26/2014

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I've heard All Free and Clear is bad for CDs because it has optical brighteners. We use Country Save - it has none of the "bad" ingredients for CDs and also works awesome on the rest of our laundry. I buy it at iherb online because they do free shipping on only $20 orders. Also I have a promo code if you want - it's PUM485 and gives you $5 off any order or $10 off orders $40 and up. A box of Country Save is just under 8 bucks so with the code you could try it for cheap and see if you like it as much as we do.

I'm no expert...I'm starting to navigate the world of cloth diapers myself! I have 6 pocket diapers and inserts so far, and I use them on my toddler when she sleeps. I plan to buy 12-15 diapers total before the new baby is born. Between the two kids, I'll be washing once a day. I use Charlie's Soap powder to wash everything. There is a risk that residue left in the washer from other detergents can mess up the diapers. I've found the price to be comparable to other detergents...especially since I only use half the recommended amount. (we have soft water) If I were using a coin machine, I would wash a load of clothes in Charlies before doing a load of diapers...to get rid of whatever residue might be in the machine.

I haven't done cloth in a while, but we just used All free and clear with occasional spot removal stuff [just used an off brand from the store, i think]. We washed them daily. Every night I'd do a load regardless of how many there were so I always had dry/fresh ones in the morning. I always rinsed them out/washed out a bit right away after they went in them, but then washed them all in the washing machine. I used all kinds because they were all ones given to me by people who wanted to use them, but decided against it. I usually just did diapers solo. also added a bit of vinegar sometimes. Not sure why. mother told me to do it - natural odor neutralizer and fabric softener, i'd guess. It helped us tons with potty training. We eventually got those Gerber "panties" with the extra bottom like a cloth diaper and just put a cover over it. She REALLY did know the difference and said she didn't like the cover. I said, okay, if you don't pee or poop in them, you can take it off. Ok. Hope it works well for you too. Something about cloth really makes them want to train faster than disposable diapers. no idea why.

You need to use a non biological detergent so that it does not upset the skin.In England we have a detergent called Fairy. You have to consider that you are going to need at least 8 diapers with a new born. I can not see any reason why you could not mix the wash but it just does not seem very nice why you would want to wash your tops with baby pee!

I think that using cloth diapers is very environment friendly but will probably cost you about the same as a dispossible ones to begin with as new borns pee alot. However it will be more economical once you have established a routine with your child and only need a couple of changes a day.